Cycling: Becky James heads new Great Britain stars

Becky James starred as part of a new generation at the Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk in a performance which provides an ominous warning for Great Britain’s rivals ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Becky James starred as part of a new generation at the Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk in a performance which provides an ominous warning for Great Britain’s rivals ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The 21-year-old from Abergavenny won two of five gold medals in Minsk as Britain topped the medal table in the first World Championships of the new, post-London 2012 Olympic cycle.

Britain won seven of 10 Olympic titles in Beijing and London and there is no sign of their dominance subsiding despite the baton being passed on by the established talents.

The absences of the now retired Victoria Pendleton and six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, who is taking a sabbatical as he weighs up his future, offered an opportunity which the young group seized – and none more so than James, whose personal haul equalled that of the France team.

Victories in the women’s sprint, succeeding Pendleton as world champion, and Keirin, plus bronze medals in the 500 metres time-trial and team sprint, alongside debutant Vicky Williamson, saw James become the first Briton to win four medals at one World Championships.

It was an achievement shared by her grandparents, Kathleen and Ioan James, who were in Minsk to witness her historic haul.

“It was an incredible week,” James told Press Association Sport.

“It has not sunk in whatsoever. I don’t think it will until I get home and see all my family and they’ve all congratulated me as well.

“It’s crazy. I actually can’t believe it’s happened.

“I can’t even describe how I feel. I didn’t expect to come away with two gold medals and two bronze medals; I was aiming for top eight in each event.

“To be stood on the podium, not just on the podium, but on top of the podium is just incredible.

“It’s just so unreal. I can’t actually believe it and I think it’s going to take a while to sink in.”

James will now go on holiday to Argentina before planning for next season, with the World Championships in Cali, Colombia, a target before another major goal in South America.

She is not the only one hoping to build on success in Minsk.

Three-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny may be disappointed after missing out on the world sprint and team sprint titles, but he claimed the Keirin crown Hoy won in 2012, while Simon Yates was triumphant in the points race and the team pursuit squad of Laura Trott, Dani King and Elinor Barker also won gold.

Double Olympic champion Trott had to settle for silver in the omnium and there was silver for the men’s team pursuit squad of Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Andy Tennant and Sam Harrison, who underperformed in losing by four seconds to Australia in the final.

On the whole, though, the World Championships were a marked success.

“It’s been a great Worlds for everyone,” James added.

“This is a stepping stone towards Rio and this is a new generation of riders.

“It’s such a young team. There was a really good vibe, a really good buzz. Everyone’s looking forward to just stepping on to the next worlds, on the road to Rio.”

Head coach Shane Sutton compared Minsk with the first World Championships following the Beijing Games, when Britain won just two gold medals in Pruszkow, Poland.

“It’s night and day,” he said. “We took a bit of a pasting there.

“Even up to 18 months out from the (London) Games we were in trouble.

“Fortunately we turned it around, but I don’t think we want to go on that journey. It wasn’t pleasant.

“We’ve all realised we’ve got to roll our sleeves up and move on from the success we had in London and try to keep a bit of that momentum. We’ve done that in good style this week.

“We start on a good platform now in moving forward over the next three years heading towards Rio.”